


First Christmas in Hale

by ANE925



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Just all the fluff, M/M, Magic!Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 15:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8805817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ANE925/pseuds/ANE925
Summary: Stiles had thought he was prepared to spend Christmas with Derek and his family. The Hales are ready to show him just how wrong he is.





	

“Stiles!” the battle cry was the only warning Stiles got before Gracie, one of Derek's youngest cousin’s, collided with him. It was only thanks to countless family gatherings that Stiles was able to brace himself and stay on his feet.

 “Gracie,” Stiles exclaimed as he swung the little warrior around, making her squeal in delight. “How is my favorite Hale?” 

“Stiles, you can’t say that!” Gracie gasp out, “You’re going to make Uncle Derek sad,” 

“It’s alright Gracie, Stiles was just leaving anyway. He’s no longer welcome to spend the week here,” Derek sniffed out in pretend hurt, his eye sparkling with amusement. 

“You going to spend all of Christmas week with us?” Gracie asked Stiles, obviously only hearing the information she wanted to. 

“Well I was going to, but if your Uncle Derek’s mad at me...” Stiles trailed off as Gracie wiggled her way down to the ground and started pushing him towards Derek. 

“Quick, distract him! I’ll grab your bags so you can’t leave,” Gracie said before grabbing a suitcase and dashing towards the house, easily pulling something that was almost twice her height and definitely three times her weight. 

“Wow, not even two steps out of the car and I’ve already been replaced. That’s got to be a new record,” Derek joked as he pulled out a few more of their things. 

“Ah, don’t worry sugarpup, you’re still my favoritest favorite,” Stiles managed to get out without laughing. At least until he saw the face Derek pulled at his latest holiday themed pet name. 

“No,” Derek said firmly and with an exaggerated shudder.

“I’ll keep trying,” Stiles promised, giving Derek a quick kiss on the lips before taking the food trays they brought. 

“Please don’t,” Derek said as he closed the trunk and gathered the rest of their things. 

“You ready for this?” Derek asked quietly, his gaze steady and questioning. 

Stiles took a deep breath. The Hale clan was huge and that was just during their normal meetups over the year. Derek had warned him that Christmas would be at least ten times worse with everyone in town. Still, this wasn’t Stiles’ first time meeting them all and if Derek could survive Thanksgiving with his pack, he could do this. 

“110%,” Stiles promised. 

Falser words had never left Stiles’ lips. 

It started as soon as they got through the front door. They were instantly mobbed. It was a constant effort to not trip over the many mini terrors that circled and clamored for attention as they made their way through the seemingly endless group. Without Stiles noticing, someone took the food out of his hands and the coat off his back, it also seemed someone had relieved Derek of their things. 

“Stiles, Derek,” Talia greeted them with a hug and kiss each as they stumbled into a clearing. “I’m so glad to see you. Safe trip, I presume?”

“It’s wonderful to see you too. And yes, traffic was... well you know holiday traffic, but nothing outside the norm,” Stiles told her with a grin. 

“That I do, sadly. Will your Father and Melissa still be able to make it here on Christmas?” Talia asked as her husband, Kyle, came over handing each of them a nice steaming cup what smelled like hot Coco. 

“They both work, but they said they would be stopping by around noon,” Stiles told her as he took his cup with a thank you and curious eyebrow raise. The liquid was purple and shimmery. His curiosity only grew as he watched Derek chug the whole thing. 

“It’s an old family recipe. Designed to keep you warm and toasty,” Kyle explained with a devious grin. Stiles froze with the cup halfway to him. 

“And why would I need to be magicked into staying warm?” Stiles asked cautiously. 

“Didn’t Derek tell you anything before dragging you into this crazy?” Laura asked as she pulled them into a hug. 

“The general consensus was I was better off not knowing and just going with it,” Stiles informed her with a shrug. 

“Meaning Derek chickened out in fear that you would turn tail and run like any sane being would,” Laura teased. 

“Laura!” Derek hissed even as his ears started to change a lovely embarrassed red. 

“Luckily for everyone involved, the word sane has never been applied to me in my life. It’s never even been in the same sentence as my name, come to think of it,” Stiles informed the group, to their great amusement as he linked his free hand with Derek’s. 

“Good, then drink up. We leave as soon as Cora gets here to go Christmas tree hunting,” Laura finished with a smirk before slipping back into the chaos. 

“What?” Stiles asked. 

Turns out, the Hales still go out and cut down their own Christmas tree. It made sense, they did have a forest in their backyard but still. The amount of pups alone would make Stiles think this was something they would do before everyone showed up. 

“So you wait until nightfall,” Stiles started to say before a young Hale corrected him.

“Moonrise,” the boy yelled as he ran by. 

“Sorry, you wait till moonrise to go looking for the biggest, fullest tree you can find with a small army that you hope everyone will agree on,” Stiles finished. 

“Yep,” Derek answered with a grin, “Now help me look. The person to find the tree gets bragging rights for the whole year,” 

It ended up taking three hours, during which two full-on snowball wars broke out over two different sadly rejected trees. It was after the second one, flushed with exhilaration and glee, that Stiles felt a soft tug. With the Hale pack around him and Derek by his side, Stiles followed the tug deep into the woods. Deep enough that even Derek was starting to trip as he walked. However, once they got to the clearing, Stiles knew what had drawn him in. 

There, in the center of the clearing, was a Christmas tree right out of a child’s picture book. Standing tall, full, and proud, it almost seemed to shine on it’s own. Derek let loose a howl, calling everyone to look at the new find. While they waited, Stiles reached his magic forward to touch the tree, since he wasn’t quite sure why such a young and healthy tree would call for him. 

It didn’t take long to find the insect infestation in the tree’s roots. It was sad, for all it was the circle of life, but this tree would not last another year if left alone. Knowing that, it would be proud to be the Hale’s Christmas tree this year. 

The clearing soon filled with the collective appreciation and giddy excitement of the Hales. The decision was quickly made that, yes, this was going to be their perfect Christmas tree for the year. 

“Alright, Gracie I believe it is your turn this year. Would you still like to lead us in thanks before we cut this beauty down?” Talia asked surprising Stiles. 

“Yes please,” Gracie said as solemnly as a young pup could. She then began to thank the tree and forest in an obviously often repeated rhythm as the pack joined in. 

“We know that our forest is not...uninhabited. So it’s only right and natural for us to be respectful and give thanks for all it gives us,” Derek whispered in Stiles’ ear as he held him close. 

“Stiles, you're a druid too right? Did I do ok?” Gracie asked once she had finished making Stiles heart swell. 

“You did perfect Gracie,” Stiles assured her. Looking to Talia Stiles couldn’t help but ask “Do you mind if I add on?”

“Be my guest,” Talia agreed with a grin. 

Once again Siles pushed his magic out, he heard and felt the gasp and following crowding of the youngins as his runes flared to life, made all the brighter by how late it was. Reaching forward, Stiles stuck his hand elbow deep into the tree before pulling it back out with a grin. In his hand was a perfect acorn ripe and ready for next growing season. 

“If we all take care of this, soon it will grow and in just a few years it will turn into a new baby tree for you all to play with,” Stiles explained to the gathered pups, feeling joy at how excited they were about this new fact. 

The adults then made short work of getting the tree down and bundled. Getting it back up and in the house proved a moderate challenge, but one the Hales were certainly up to. 

Once the tree was up and the little ones reminded that it needed a night to settle, everyone curled up in the huge room. The fire was stoked, more magick warmth was handed out and everyone settled in to listen to Grandpa Hale read old and beloved Christmas tales from one of his leather bound books. 

Once the last pup had nodded off, everyone headed to their own beds for the night. Pleasant dreams and goodnights were whispered as they all settled in for a good night's sleep and Stiles couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow would bring. 

The next day brought a lazy morning of staying in bed until well after noon. When they did finally manage to brave the journey downstairs, Stiles was surprised to see the dining room stripped of everything but the tablecloth and names placed in front of each seat. 

“Well that’s interesting,” Stiles said to the room at large as he sipped his coffee. 

This afternoon we are going to be decorating the last of the sugar cookies,” Derek told him, making half the room snort into their drinks. 

“That sounds fun?” Stile questioned, unsure why Derek’s statement would cause that reaction. 

“Give it a few hours and we’ll see,” Mark, Laura’s husband muttered darkly, setting off a wave of laughter at, it would seem, Laura’s expense. 

They were an hour into decorating and Stiles completely understood what Mark meant. 

Laura had already bared her fangs at her brother Kevin for trying to steal her white jimmies, Derek had growled when Stiles had bumped him, and Cora had a steady gaze and hand that would make a surgent weep in envy. All in all, it seemed the Hales, especially Derek and his siblings, took cookie decorating to be an art competition and they were all in it to win. 

Stiles himself hadn’t done too badly. He had made a few he was proud of,  but he couldn’t claim that all his cookies were elaborately decorated.  

Once they hit the two hour mark, Stiles left Derek to his glare-off with Kevin to join some of the older Hales in the other room. 

“You’re good for him,” Grandma Hale suddenly said, stilling all other conversation in the room. 

“Thank you,” Stiles politely replied, caught of guard. It made Grandma Hale smile. 

“Really, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen him so caught up in the Christmas festivities. He’s really pulling out all the stops to impress you,” She continued to say. 

“He knows he doesn’t have to impress me,” Stiles tried to argue, but Grandma Hale just cut him off with a sweet smile. 

“No, he doesn’t need to. But he wants to and that makes all the difference. So thank you, for bringing Derek back the magic of the season,” Grandma Hale finished. At first Stiles had no idea what to say. That was, until he caught the smirk she was trying to hide. 

“That... That was a pun. You just made a pun. You are no better than they are,” Stiles laughingly accused. 

“Who do you think taught them, little one? Come, I’ll tell you all kinds of stories about Derek’s childhood” She promised. 

The rest of the night was filled with recalling family stories of old and Christmases past and right before they went to bed, Derek showed Stiles a cookie he had decorated just for him. They didn’t fall asleep for quite a bit longer after that. 

Christmas eve morning found them running around getting all the last minute things done. 

Everyone seemed to know their jobs already so Stiles helped out where he could. Whether that was watching and distracting the younglings with magic candy games, or being an extra hand in the kitchen, or helping to bring up a truly alarming amount of boxes, it didn’t matter. 

The day passed quickly with all the hustle and bustle and, before Stiles knew it, they were all once again gathered around the Christmas tree. 

Turned out, all those boxes they brought up belonged to a person and each were filled with ornaments of all kinds. There were handmade ones, ones from childhoods long passed and ones just started, first ornaments celebrating a baby’s first or a couples first, there were collectable, ones that memorialized special events in their lives, ones that light up, played music, moved, sang, and, Stiles was willing to bet, every style of ornament you could image filled the room and soon would fill the tree. 

Even more amazing though, was watching the Hales actually put them all up. There was a clear case of misuse of magic happening and, if the kids acrobatics got any more elaborate, Stiles was going to bust a gut laughing. 

“Stiles,” Derek gently called, bringing his attention to him and Gracie. 

“We made this for you,” Gracie said shy in a way Stiles had never seen before. 

Gently unwrapping the tissue paper, revealed a handmade ornament that made Stiles’ heart stop. The base had to be made by Gracie, but the detail inside screamed Derek. It was a young druid boy, runes showing, passed out on a large, black wolf. Scattered all around them were young children and pups alike and, if you looked, you could see in the background, adults clearly amused at the tired out couple. At the bottom it read ‘My first Christmas with the Hales’ in Gracie's handwriting, but on the back it read ‘With many many more to come’ in the delicate curve that could only be Derek’s. 

Stiles could feel his heart swelling and the tears threatening to spill. With great effort, he calmed himself down and pulled Gracie into a tight hug. 

“Best. Present. Ever,” He told her to her obvious glee.

“Yeah?” Derek ask from behind them a soft smile on his face.

“Yes,” Stiles promised, giving him a quick kiss. 

“Want to help me put this up?” Stiles asked Gracie. 

With an eager nod, Stiles helped her to his shoulder and handed her the gift. Then, just this once, he let himself let go and used his magic to fly them up to the very top of the tree. Right below the moon topper, Gracie helped Stiles hang up his new ornament.

Once they were both safely on the ground, Stiles went directly into Derek’s embrace. 

“Thank you,” Stiles whispered before giving him another kiss. 

Soon the tree was filled and everyone settled down for a few more tales from Grandpa Hale. Then it was straight off to bed, after all tomorrow was Christmas.

Christmas morning, Stiles was woken up with a knee to the gut. With a groan, Stiles got up to see three evil minions on their bed. 

“Go away,” Derek growled as he pulled Stiles back down and close to him. 

“Nope! Time to get up! We can’t open presents until everyone is downstairs!” Brian cried as he started jumping again. 

“I can hex them. This is a thing I could do,” Stiles mumbled as he tried to bury himself deep into the warmth that was Derek. Derek chuckled, as did the minions. 

“No, let’s go, you wouldn’t want any coal, would you?” Derek teased before sitting up suddenly, knocking all of them off the bed. 

“Mom! Derek and Stiles are awake,” Brian yelled and all three of them were off to torment the next unluckly relative.

“Come on, before Cora gets ideas next,” Derek warned and just like that, Stiles was wide awake. 

If the Christmass tree was gorgeous last night, it was stunning this morning. The based was filled with brightly colored boxes and string. Everyone’s cookies out to eat and several cups of warm drinks brewed and at the ready. 

Stiles curled back into Derek's side as they took a seat on a couch and watched the little ones dive right in. The adults content to wait until they were done. 

“Merry Christmas Stiles,” Derek whispered before giving him a gentle kiss. 

And this? Surrounded by love and joy and family? Knowing his Dad would be here soon to make it just perfect? Sitting here next to Derek surrounded by pack, watching little ones light up with Christmas joy? This is where Stiles wanted to be for the rest of his life. 

“And many, many more,” Stiles answered, watching Derek light up before returning the kiss. 

The joyful cries of the little ones mingled with the laughter of adults and merged with the Christmas music that had started playing. Outside a soft snow began to fall. 

  
It might have been the perfect first Christmas with the Hales, but Stiles and Derek had many many more to look forward to, together.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, all the presents go to my lovely beta. Without whom none of my stories would be readable. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
